Photographic processing apparatus



5- G- FITCH PHOTOGRAPHIC PROCESSING APPARATUS Feb. 25, '1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 28. 1961 57: Z 5' Fztah Y an 2y surge A TORIVEY Feb. 25, 1964 s. G, FITCH 3 86 PHOTOGRAPHIC PROCESSING APPARATUS A Filed Feb. 28,1961 v a Sheets-Sheet 2 Hlllllllllllllllllll llllllfll I mumma I nvvsmve 52.52272 EeaneFztch ATTOR/V) Feh.25,1964 s. G. FITCH 3,122,086

- PHOTOGRAPHIC PROCESSING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 28, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet s lA/l/EN TOR 5i anlqy E'eurgs P11, 077 BY A TTORIVE Y United States Patent 3,122,086 PHOTGGRAPHTC PROCESSING APPARATUS Stanley George Fitch, Bishops Stortford, England, assignor to Newman & Guardia Limited, Harlow, England, a British company Filed Feb. 28, B61, Ser. No. 92,378 I 10 Claims. (Cl. 95--94) This invention relates to photographic processing apparatus, that is to say, apparatus for carrying out such operations as developing, fixing, washing and drying on exposed photographic paper or translucent strip, hereinafter referred to compendiously as film.

Photographic processing apparatus, according to the invention, comprises a housing, a series of tanks supported in the housing and each having a closed lower and an open upper end, guide spools respectively disposed within the tanks, a drive shaft extending above and transversely with respect to the open upper ends of the tanks, means for imparting drive to the drive shaft, and spaced film driving pulleys carried on the drive shaft, the spacing of the driving pulleys and the disposition thereof relatively to the guide spools permitting the driving of film along a helical path successively through the tanks.

Preferably, the relative dispositions of the driving pulleys and guide spools are such that diametrically opposite, horizontally spaced locations of the part of each guide spool engaged by the axis of the film are located respectively in the film path from one driving pulley vertically below the point thereof engaged by the axis of the film and in the film path to the succeeding driving pulley vertically below the point thereof engaged by the axis of the film.

In one form of apparatus according to the invention suitable for use with reversal film, there is provided a second series of tanks which is supported in the housing and provided in similar manner to the first series with guide spools and a drive shaft carrying film driving rollers to afford a helicalfilrn path through the second series of tanks in sequence with the film path through the first series of tanks, there being disposed in the film path between the two series of tanks filrn exposure means.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying, rather diagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIGURE lcis a partly exploded perspective view of photographic processing apparatus in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a diagrammatic sectional view illustrating a section of the path of film through the apparatus;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary plan View illustrating a detail;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional end elevation of a film supply magazine employed with the apparatus; and,

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of another embodiment of the invention.

in the drawings like parts have been given the same reference numerals.

The apparatus illustrated comprises a housing 1 having upright channel-shaped end members 3 and 5 extending upwardly from a lower housing part 7. Between the members 3 and 5 near the upper ends thereof is mounted a horizontally disposed support plate 9 formed with a series of similar rectangular apertures 11 parallel longer sides of each aperture being inclined at 45 to the edges of the plate 9. Within each aperture is vertically disposed a tank 13 of rectangular section in plan view and having a closed lower and an open upper end and formed from plastics material suitably polyvinyl chloride. The upper end of each tank is formed with an integral outwardly projecting flange 15 whereby the tank is supported on the upper surface of the plate 9. The lower ends of the tank rest on a bracket 17 supported at its ends on the members 3 and 5.

Disposed within each tank 13 is a flanged film guide spool 19 which is freely movable in a vertical direction and the axis of which is horizontal and parallel with the shorter sides of the tank. The axial width of each spool 19 is only slightly less than the width of the tank so that rotation of the spool about a vertical axis is inhibited.

From upper ends of the members 3 and 5 there extend aligned vertical slots 21 and 23 inwardly of which are disposed bearing blocks 25 and 27 respectively formed with open-topped U-bearings 29 and 31 which are aligned with the slots 21 and 23. The bearing blocks are also formed in upper surfaces thereof with grooves 33 and 35.

Extending above and transversely of the series of tanks 13 is a drive shaft 37 on which are carried spaced filrn driving sprocketed pulleys 39. The shaft 37, during operation, is engaged in the U'bearings 29 and 31 but for the purpose of threading film or leader strip through the apparatus, the shaft 37 is lifted into the grooves 33 and 35.

The pulleys 39 are spaced apart so that the horizontal distance between parts of the pulleys engaged by the iongitudinal axis of the film is equal to the effective diameters of the pulleys 39, that is to say the diameter of that part of each driving pulley which is engagedby the film during operation. The disposition of the driving pulleys 39 is such that horizontally spaced diametrically opposite locations of each guide spool engaged, during operation, by the axis of the film are arranged respectively in the path of film from one driving pulley 39 and vertically below the last point thereof engaged by the axis of the film and in the path of film to the next succeeding driving pulley 39 and vertically below the first point thereof engaged by the axis of. the film. For these conditions to be satisfied when the driving pulleys are spaced and the guide spools 19 are arranged as aforesaid, the effective diameter of the guide spools is \[2 times that of the drive pulleys.

The film thus traverses the tanks 13 successively along a path which is helical and extends from one drive pulley vertically downwards to and around the associated guide spool 19 and thence vertically upwards to and around the next succeeding drive pulley from which it passes vertically downwards to the next guide spool and so on through all the tanks 13. The vertical sections of the film between each drive pulley and the guide spool therebelow are twisted through 45 (see FIGURE 3) and in this way the tension along opposite edges of the film throughout the helical path is maintained uniform.

For driving the drive shaft 37, there is provided in the lower part 7 of the housing an electric motor 41 which is switched on and off by a switch 43 on a control panel 45 of the housing 1 and the speed of which is controlled by a manually operated slide element 17 also provided on the control panel. Easily accessible fuses 48 for the electric circuits of the apparatus are, in addition, provided on the control panel 45.

The motor 41 drives the sprocket 51 connected by a horizontally disposed endless chain 53 to a further s rocket 55 to which is keyed the pulley 57 connected by a vertically arranged endless belt 59 to a further pulley er. This latter pulley is mounted on a shaft 63 which carries a gear wheel 65 which is in mesh with a freely rotatably mounted gear wheel 67 disposed above the gear wheel 65. The gear wheel 67 in turn meshes with a gear 69 keyed to the drive shaft 37 near one end thereof.

Film is supplied to the first of the drive pulleys 39 from a light-tight magazine 71 which is detachably secured to the housing 1 adjacent the first of the drive pulleys 39. From the magazine 71 film passes through an arcades 3 aperture F3 in the Ill".b6f 3 and under a tensioning roller i mounted on the member 3 to the fir t of the driving pulleys 39.

Within the magazine are two rot table shaft mountings '73" and i to which are releasably keyed spools 31 and 83. Parallel with th shaft mounting 77 is a further shaft 85 on which is rotatably mounted a handle 87 which can slide axially along the shaft 85. By movement inwardly along the shaft 35 a hole @l in the hub of the handle 87 engages a pin 93 on an element 95 which is keyed to the shaft 35 and that shaft can then be rotated by the handle 87. At its inner end the shaft 85 carries a gear 75 which meshes with a gear W on the shaft mounting '77 so that when the handle 37 is employed to rotate the shaft 85, the shaft mounting 77 and, therefore, the spool 81 is rotated. in this way, film can be manually transferred from the spool 33 to the spool 31. Within the magazine 1 is also mounted above and to one side of spool 81 a roller 99 over which film from the spool is passed prior to its passage through the aperture 73 to the first sprocketed driving pulley 3) on the shaft 37.

in the path of film from the last of the driving pulleys 35 is disposed a take-up spool 1%} which is releasably keyed to a second drive shaft 135 which extends parallel to the shaft 37 and carries a pulley il -i5, the latter being engaged by an endless spring belt 1% which also engages a pulley liii on the shaft 3'7. The connecting means afforded by the spring 1% provides a slipping drive t the shaft 193, the degree of slip progressively increasing as the diameter of the film wound on the take-up spiral 1% inc eases so that the take-up spool winds on film at a constant or substantially constant rate governed by the speed of shaft 37.

When the apparatus is employed to develop negative from exposed cinematograph film, the film is passed through the first tank which contains developing solution, the second tank through which, as hereinafter described, Wash Water is circulated, the third tank which contains fixing solution, the fourth and fifth tanks through which wash water is also circulated, the sixth tank which contains alcohol to accelerate subsequent drying of the film and the seventh and eighth tanks which serve as drying chambers.

For supp water thereto, the lower ends of the second, fourth and tanks are connected by pipes such as the pipe 121 to a manifold (not shown) whic 1 in turn is connected to a source of water supply. Opening into the upper end of each of these three tanks is an overflow conduit 122 which leads to a sump (not shown) in the lower part 7 of the housing 1, the sump being provided with a drain.

The supply of warm to the drying tanks is provided by a warm air blower i233 which incorporates a fan and a heater and which is disposed in a lower part "7 of the housing 1 and is operated by interlocked heater and blower ches r25 and 12d provided on the panel 45. Warm is supplied by the lower 123 through suitable ducting (not shown) to the lower ends of the seventh and eighth tanks 13 and passes upwards through those tanks to effect drying of the film passing therethrough. The upper part of the housing 1 is enclosed to render it light-tight by a lid 2 which is formed with a light-tight vent (not shown) to permit escape of warm air passed through the seventh and eighth tanks. lid engages the upper edges of the the members 3 and 5 and of front and rear plastic panels s and 3 (shown in FIGURE 5 only). The lid 2 and panels 6 and S render the housing light-tight.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows; a 100 foot length of leader strip is wound on the spool 31 and thence threaded over the roller 9% through the aperture 73 under the roller 75 and over the driving sprocketed pulleys 39 and guide spools 19 in a helical path, as described above, and to the take-up spool Ilfil. During this threading process the shaft 37 is disposed in the grooves 33 and 35 of the bearing blocks, lifting of the shaft 37 in these grooves being effected by handles 15f) (shown only in FIGURE 5). To thread the apparatus in this fashion, approximately 50 feet of leader strip used and when the apparatus has been threaded the leader strip is cut at he spool 81 so that 50 feet of leader strip remain on that spool. The free end of the leader strip on the spool is connected by stapling to the free end of a length of exposed film on the spool 33 which is the take p spool of the camera. The magazine is then closed and t is lm from the spool 83 is transferred to the spool 81 by the handle 87. The magazine is then opened and the free end of the film on the spool 81 is connected by stapling to the free end of the leader strip which is threaded through the apparatus. The magazine is then closed and the shaft 3'? is lowered into the U-bearings 29 and 31. Next the tanks 13 are charged with appropriate solutions after which the lid is placed in position and the blower, Wash liquid supply and electric motor are switched on. When all the film has passed through the apparatus to the take-up spool lei, the apparatus is then laced with the 50 feet of leader strip left on the mag'"' ..e spool 81 after the first threading operation and this strip is disconnected from the take-up spool 1G1 ready for the next length of film.

It will be appreciated that though the apparatus described is used mainly for film lengths of feet, it can, by use of an appropriate magazine 71 and take-up spool 191 be employed with longer lengths, e.g. 480 feet, of film.

The apparatus described deals with 16 millimetre film but by use of suitably adapted guide spools E) and by the provision of a further shaft, similar to the shaft 37, carrying 35 millimetre sprocketed driving pulleys, the apparatus becomes capable of handling 35 millimetre film.

For transport purposes, lifting handles and/ or castors or wheels may be provided. Suitably, all metal parts of the apparatus are of stainless steel.

With 16 millimetre film the required capacity of the tanks 13 is three to four pints whilst with 35 millimetre film the tank capacity is about nine pints.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the pulleys 39 instead of being sprocketed may be friction pulleys.

The apparatus described has a speed range of two to eight feet of film per minute and does not require dark room facilities for its employment. Where quality is not of primary importance the number of tanks can be decreased and the film speed increased.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGURE 5 is intended for use with reversal film. To this end, there is provided a second series of tanks 13 disposed parallel with the first series of tanks. The second series of tanks 13 is provided in similar fashion to the first series of tanks with guide spools 19 and above the second series of tanks there is provided a further shaft 37 which is coupled in appropriate fashion to the main drive from the electric motor 41. The two series of tanks 13 are arranged in series relationship and in the path of film from the last sprocketed drive pulley 39 associated with the first series of tanks to the first sprocketed drive pulley associated with the second series of tanks there is provided a re-exposure unit 16d. The take-up unit of the apparatus in this embodiment is, of course, disposed at the end of the second series of tanks. Each series of tanks contains eight tanks and in the case of each series the film traverses a helical path. In the first series the first two tanks contain developing solution, the third tank is a circulating wash liquid tank, the fourth and fifth tanks contain bleaching solution, the sixth tank is, again, a washing tank, the seventh tank is clear and the eighth tank is a further circulating Wash liquid tank. in the second series of tanks, developing is effected in the first tank, rinsing in the second tank, fixing in the third tank, washing in the fourth and fifth tanks, the sixth tank is an alcohol bath and the seventh and eighth tanks are drying tanks. In this embodiment of the invention it is only necessary to render the region above the first series of tanks light-tight. Thus, the lid of the apparatus only covers the first series of tanks and engages the front panel 6 and an intermediate transverse panel 60 of the housing.

The apparatus described can also be employed in connection with colour film for the purpose of obtaining negative colour film. Also, the apparatus can be used with reversal colour film though this involves the use of an appropriately increased number of tanks.

What I claim is:

1. Photographic processing apparatus comprising a housing, a series of tanks supported within the housing and each having a closed lower and an open upper end, the tanks being of rectangular section in plan view, guide spools disposed respectively within the tanks with their axes horizontal and parallel to the shorter sides of the tanks, each guide spool being freely rotatable about its axis and movable in a vertical direction but the spacing between the longer sides of the tank being such as to constrain the guide spool to rotation and to up and down translatory motion, a drive shaft extending above and transversely with respect to the open upper ends of the tanks, the parallel longer sides of the tanks being inclined relative to the axis of the drive shaft, means for imparting drive to the drive shaft, and spaced film driving pulleys carried on the drive shaft, the spacing of the driving pulleys and the disposition thereof relative to the guide spools permitting the driving of film along a helical path successively through the tanks.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the diametrically opposite, horizontally spaced locations of the part of each guide spool engaged by the axis of the film are located respectively in the film path from one driving pulley vertically below the last point thereof engaged by the axis of the film and in the film path to the succeeding driving pulley vertically below the first point thereof engaged by the axis of the film.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the parts of the driving pulleys which, during operation, are engaged by the film are each of a diameter substantially equal to the axial distance between the locations of the longitudinal axis of the film on successive driving pulleys, while the part of each guide spool engaged by the film is of diameter substantially equal to /2 times the diameter of the part of each driving pulley engaged by the film. 4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein there is provided a magazine detachably mounted on the housing adjacent the beginning of the series of tanks, a rotatable mounting within the magazine adapted to receive a film supply spool, means for conveying film from the supply spool to the first of the film driving pulleys at the beginning of the series of tanks, and a second drive shaft adapted releasably to receive a take-up film spool and arranged to position the take-up spool so that the latter is disposed in the path of film from the last of the film driving pulleys.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the second drive shaft is disposed parallel with the shaft carrying the driving pulleys and coupling means are provided between the said shafts which are adapted to impart a slipping drive to the second drive shaft so as to permit the take-up spool to wind on film at a substantially constant rate.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the housing is provided with a lid which can engage an upper end part of the housing to enclose in light-tight manner the driving pulleys and the open upper ends of the tanks.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein opening into a lower part of at least one of the tanks are wash liquid supply means, the said tank being further provided with a wash liquid overflow conduit leading to a sump disposed in a lower part of the housing.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein means for imparting drive to the drive shaft carrying the film driving pulleys include an electric motor accommodated within a lower part of the housing.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein a second series of tanks is supported in the housing and provided in similar manner to the first series with guide spools and a drive shaft carrying film driving rollers to aiford a helical film path through the second series of tanks in sequence with the film path through the first series of tanks, there being disposed in the film path between the two series of tanks film re-exposure means.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the first and second series of tanks are disposed in parallel mutually spaced relationship with the end of the film path through the second series of tanks disposed opposite the beginning of the film path through the first series of tanks.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,444,818 Wescott Feb. 13, 1923 1,653,451 De Ybarrondo Dec. 20, 1927 2,169,758 Capstoif Aug. 15, 1939 

1. PHOTOGRAPHIC PROCESSING APPARATUS COMPRISING A HOUSING, A SERIES OF TANKS SUPPORTED WITHIN THE HOUSING AND EACH HAVING A CLOSED LOWER AND AN OPEN UPPER END, THE TANKS BEING OF RECTANGULAR SECTION IN PLAN VIEW, GUIDE SPOOLS DISPOSED RESPECTIVELY WITHIN THE TANKS WITH THEIR AXES HORIZONTAL AND PARALLEL TO THE SHORTER SIDES OF THE TANKS, EACH GUIDE SPOOL BEING FREELY ROTATABLE ABOUT ITS AXIS AND MOVABLE IN A VERTICAL DIRECTION BUT THE SPACING BETWEEN THE LONGER SIDES OF THE TANK BEING SUCH AS TO CONSTRAIN THE GUIDE SPOOL TO ROTATION AND TO UP AND DOWN TRANSLATORY MOTION, A DRIVE SHAFT EXTENDING ABOVE AND TRANSVERSELY WITH RESPECT TO THE OPEN UPPER ENDS OF THE 